IntroductionOther than some of the training scenarios, this is my first attempt at Unconditional Surrender. So why a game report? Well I sort of got hooked on producing ‘in-action reports’ for both The Battle for Normandy and Holland ’44, where I document a game as it progresses, with as much detail as I can manage without eating up too much time. I can see the story potential with this game which is important to me if I’m writing a report, so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m not going to do turn-by-turn posts, I’ll post a summary when something significant happens, or if I’ve accumulated enough minor stuff to make it worthwhile.

This isn’t my first grand-strategic WWII game, I’ve also played Third Reich, WWII: European Theatre of Operations (and PTO), Krieg, Totaler Krieg and Europe Engulfed; there may even be others I’ve forgotten over the past 35 years or so. I guess I’m still looking for the perfect ETO game, though for me Totaler Krieg has been the closest so far. On my first try I’ll be looking to go fairly historical to get a feel for the game, so it’ll be West First and no Allied control of Italy unless the Axis declares war. Like that’s ever going to happen...

The game will be using Vassal v3.2.17 with the Unconditional Surrender module v2.3.0 and will be played solo. As usual thanks to the people who make it possible for me to play these games without using up table space that I don’t have, by providing this software and all of the great modules. Encouraged by another BGG user, Gianluca Spessato, the first turn will be a lot more detailed than subsequent turns are likely to be, partly so that more experienced players will be more able to spot the mistakes I’m sure to make and partly to give an example for others just starting out. Please don’t hesitate to comment/criticise/make suggestions, I’d like to learn as much as possible from this exercise. The interaction also really helps me to keep going.

Without further ado, here we go:

September 1939 – The Fall of Poland

Weather PhaseCold Zone: FairMild Zone: FairWarm Zone: Fair

Declare War PhaseThe Axis declares war on (1) Western faction, ending Appeasement and adding 40 to Soviet national will, and (2) Poland, which activates and joins the Western faction. Poland’s national will is 12 and it has a factory count of 3.

2nd Panzer activates (2PP) and moves 2831-2732 (1MP), moves to Lodz (1MP), moves to 2633 (1MP), moves to 2634 (1MP), attacks 2735 (2MP)[Attacker roll 4 +2 German, +2 tanks, +2 air support = 10, Defender roll 2 -2 reduced strength +1 ground support = 1; Result is DE and the polish unit is eliminated, Polish national will -1 = 0]. The German air unit in 2334 gained +1 sortie = 3 total, and the Western ground support marker (Roll 4) is placed on the January 1940 space on the turn track.

Polish national will has dropped to zero, so the country immediately collapses and is conquered: All Polish units are removed from the game; a Pro-Axis marker is placed in the diplomacy cup; a pro-axis marker is placed in Kaunas, Lithuania; The Polish Will 1’s marker is placed in the Axis conquered countries box; 1st Garrison army is moved from the German conditional box to the eliminated box; German national will is increased by 2 to 47; The Polish Corridor is ceded to Germany and the German Factory Count is increased by 1 for Posen; Eastern Poland is ceded to the USSR, which has its national will increased by 2 and its factory count by 1 for Brest, and also the 7th Soviet army is moved from the conditional box to the eliminated box.

2nd Panzer completes its activation by occupying Warsaw (2MP) to gain control, and then moving back to 2634 (1MP).

16th Army activates (1PP) and moves 8 hexes (8MP) to Stettin

14th Army activates (1PP) and moves 8 hexes (8MP) to 2626.

Western OperationsBEF activates in Southampton (1PP) and is transported to Calais by 1 Convoy, which then rebases to Le Havre, gaining it a total of 2 sorties. The BEF takes supply from Paris and gains a Low Supply marker, and it will stay that way until it needs to fight.

No Supply PhaseAll units of all factions are in supply, so nothing to do here.

Replacements PhaseBoth of the German air units that participated in the attack on Poland gain replacements (-2 sorties each at a total cost of 6PP). The British Convoy 1 reduces its sorties by 2 to zero at the cost of 3PP.

Upgrade PhaseThere are no units to upgrade.

Mobilisation PhaseThere are no units to be mobilised.

Diplomacy PhaseThe Axis faction spends 5PP to draw a marker from the diplomacy cup and gains a Political Success, placing a Pro-Axis marker in Rome, Italy. The Western faction does the same but gets No Event. The Soviets also have a go at the talking thing but also get No Event.

Victory Check PhaseMaybe not just yet.

End of Turn PhaseThe turn marker is moved to October 1939 and the two German armies on that space on the turn track are moved to the German mobilisation box. Units are also moved from the eliminated box to the mobilisation box for all factions.

The situation in Poland at the end of September 1939.

That was an interesting first turn. It’s the first time I’ve managed to take Poland without capturing Warsaw and also having two units left over. Did I miss something? I didn’t come close to this in my practice sessions using Training Scenario One. Maybe it was just luck?

One thing I do know is that that took forever and I won’t be going into anything like that much detail again!

As I mentioned earlier, any feedback is welcome, and if you spot any errors please do point them out to me.

If I remember my own playthroughs correctly, you can move a UK Convoy to a French port to give unlimited supply to the BEF. The BEF does have to be within two hexes of a transport line that traces to that port though.

If I remember my own playthroughs correctly, you can move a UK Convoy to a French port to give unlimited supply to the BEF. The BEF does have to be within two hexes of a transport line that traces to that port though.

Hope that helps you out!

Thanks, I just don't want to pay to reduce the convoy's sorties until full supply is actually needed. The UK convoy is in Le Havre ready to go.

Western OperationsBEF activates in Southampton (1PP) and is transported to Calais by 1 Convoy, which then rebases to Le Havre, gaining it a total of 2 sorties.

Actually, only one sortie. The convoy can drop off the BEF and continue moving so long as it has naval movement points remaining.

6.4.4 Naval TransportAfter the transported unit is placed, the convoy (and escort)can continue moving or ends its movement in the port with the transported unit. A convoy and escort must end movement in the same port.

Actually, only one sortie. The convoy can drop off the BEF and continue moving so long as it has naval movement points remaining.

6.4.4 Naval TransportAfter the transported unit is placed, the convoy (and escort)can continue moving or ends its movement in the port with the transported unit. A convoy and escort must end movement in the same port.

This isn’t my first grand-strategic WWII game, I’ve also played Third Reich, WWII: European Theatre of Operations (and PTO), Krieg, Totaler Krieg and Europe Engulfed; there may even be others I’ve forgotten over the past 35 years or so. I guess I’m still looking for the perfect ETO game,...

Will be interesting - given your experience - to learn where this game sits along that spectrum of ETO games that you've played!

There’s little that happens operationally this turn, mostly German units moving west as quickly as possible, ensuring that the necessary three field armies and two air units remain in the east. German and Soviet forces start to build up. Diplomacy is odd, with Germany hoping to start swaying Hungary toward their cause but failing (No Effect). British talks with Spain turn into a disaster and send it pro-Axis (Political Failure) but then the Soviets get involved and swing it back the other way (Political Success). Maybe communists and fascists can get on after all..? Neither the Western nor Soviet faction wish to see an Axis Spain.

November 1939 – Alas, Poor Denmark

WeatherCold Zone: PoorMild Zone: FairWarm Zone: Poor

Interesting... Fair weather in the Mild Zone and four units within reach of Aalborg, including a panzer army; I’m wondering what’s to stop the Axis from grabbing Denmark right now? Even without air support it should be achievable. Let’s give it a go. So, war is declared on Denmark, which joins the Western faction with a national will of 2 and a factory count of 1. The Danish garrison sets up in 2122 so that the panzers can’t reach it and attack but it still has the route to Copenhagen in its ZOC. The panzers strategic move to the western front instead and leave it to the infantry. The first attack on the Danes is a total failure, but the second eliminates the garrison allowing another army from Hamburg to occupy Copenhagen and reduce Danish national will to zero. It took three armies, but it worked. If nothing else, the additional pro-Axis marker in the diplomacy cup will be useful. Unfortunately German diplomacy fails again (No Effect) and the Western faction decides to make things more difficult for the Axis (Political Failure and No Event returned to the cup). The Western strategy backfires immediately when the Soviets make a mess of things (Political Failure) and swing the Finns toward the Axis faction. A bit of bad luck there, I think.

German troops gain control of Aalborg and the armies in Denmark move to the western front. German diplomacy has some success (Pro-Axis) and Lithuania joins the Axis cause with a national will of 2 and a factory count of 1. The Lithuanian garrison goes to the Mobilisation box to prevent the trigger of ‘East Invaded’. The Western faction concentrates on removing support for the Axis (Pro-Axis – Discarded) and the Soviets (Area Seized), concerned by developments in the Baltic States, seize control of Latvia.

January 1940 – Baltic States Aligned

WeatherCold Zone: PoorMild Zone: SevereWarm Zone: Poor

The Heer and Luftwaffe continue to expand but with the weather so bad, there’s not much else to do other than talk. Germany protests the seizure of Latvia by the Soviets (Area Seized) but Stalin just finishes the job in the Baltic States by taking Estonia. The Western faction prepares for later talks (Political Success and No Event back in the cup) as do the Soviets (Area Seized and No Event back in the cup).

February 1940 – The World Holds its Breath

WeatherCold Zone: SevereMild Zone: PoorWarm Zone: Fair

The build-up on the western front is almost complete, and with the slight chance of an improvement in the weather the BEF starts to ship supplies from the UK to ensure full readiness. The 5th Luftwaffe unit rebases to Aalborg and starts to build toward full strength, with an invasion of Norway now just waiting for sea conditions to improve. German diplomats make no progress (No Event) and neither do either of the other factions (both No Event). It seems like the world is just waiting for the inevitable escalation of the war that will come when the order is given for the invasion of France.

March 1940 – Stormy Weather

WeatherCold Zone: PoorMild Zone: SevereWarm Zone: Severe

The weather takes a turn for the worse and Axis operational plans remain on hold. All German forces are now at full readiness. German talks with Hungary finally make some progress (Political Success) and the country goes pro-Axis. Western diplomats fail to make any headway (No Effect) and the Soviets make further preparations to expand their territory (Area Seized and No Event back in the cup).

Well, here we go. The Western faction’s fears of a dry April are realised and the Sitzkrieg is over. The Axis declares war on Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium, which join the Western faction, Norway with 3 national will and 1 factory, the others both with 2 national will and 1 factory. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work with Norway and Case Yellow going on at the same time but there’s one way to find out.

The situation at the start of the offensive.

Norway to start with, and the German Airdrop marker is placed on Oslo. The German Surprise Attack marker goes into Sea Zone 12 and the army in Hamburg, with the convoy and also the Surface Action marker, activates for an amphibious invasion of Oslo [Attacker roll 3 +2 German, +2 air support, +2 naval support, -1 amphibious invasion, -1 city = 7; Defender roll 6 -2 reduced strength, -2 airdrop = 2; Result is DD and the Oslo garrison is eliminated] and the Germans take Oslo so Norwegian national will drops to zero and Norway is conquered. Sweden goes pro-Axis. The German airdrop marker is placed on May 1940 (roll 1) and the Surface Action marker on June 1940 (1 sortie +1).

Case Yellow starts with the intensive bombing of French airfields followed by an assault into the Netherlands where the Dutch army is first driven back to Rotterdam and then eliminated with the aid of air support. The country is conquered. Then the German 9th Army circles round through the Netherlands and attacks the Belgian army from 2717, reducing it and then eliminating it as it has nowhere to retreat to. 12th Army then also moves through the Netherlands and occupies Antwerp, reducing Belgian will to zero and conquering the country. It then also attacks the French 1st Army in Lille but is repulsed by French tanks. 2nd Panzer Army crosses the Meuse and attacks Sedan and takes the city easily, then advances and continues to attack, totally eliminating one French army. 1st Army occupies Brussels and attacks the French 1st Army which with nowhere to retreat to is reduced. 1st Panzer moves through the gap and around the western Maginot fort to attack a unit that retreated across the Marne and drives it back toward Paris, also displacing the French air unit. A follow-up attack eliminates the army and leaves 1st Panzer at the gates of Paris. Finally, there’s an assault by 2 armies on the western Maginot fort, which fails. The West Invaded event has been triggered.

The French pull back some forces to form a basic defensive line and more aircraft are mobilised. A couple of the Maginot forts are abandoned to free up some armies.

Diplomacy continues and Hungary joins the Axis (Political Success) and activates with 4 national will and 1 factory. Western diplomats unintentionally inspire Stalin to grab more land (Area Seized) and Karelia becomes part of the USSR. Stalin and Molotov issue a few threats to discourage anyone else from siding with the Axis (Pro-Axis – Discarded).

The Panzers are almost in Paris, but the French won’t give up the fight easily.

That was another interesting turn and my first attempt at taking France in USE. I’m not certain my Dutch/Belgian setup was a good one, and that may have helped the Germans along. I think the two strikes against the French aircraft really helped, giving them 5 sorties, and holding back German air support for just the more important attacks was probably also the right thing to do. The conquest of France in this game seems quite different to others I’ve played where the requirements for French capitulation are far less if Vichy is created; in this game it seems easier to successfully attack France (than in Totaler Krieg, for instance) but there’s a requirement to capture far more territory. I’ll be interested to see how it balances out in the upcoming turns.

One thing to point out. The Germans can waltz right through the abandoned Maginot hex because the adjacent armies in the forts do not exert a ZOC. In order to conserve units there, at least one of the other armies would have to come out of it's fort (probably the southern one) to plug the gap.

Thanks for the ongoing reports, they are fun to read and seems like you are playing well.

I would have made different choices mostly in the diplomacy (Turkey instead of Finland and Romania instead of Lithuania IIRC).

cjs65 wrote:

I’m not certain my Dutch/Belgian setup was a good one

There are a couple of recent and pretty extensive threads on attacking and defending France on this forum. There is no one right answer, but a few things to consider from those discussions:

-You can first DoW Belgium and if they setup like you did, then DoW and conquer Netherlands, which allows you to just walk into Antwerp from the Netherlands to conquer Belgium that has just 2 will. If they setup in Brussels or on the swamp, no need to waste one of your conquered countries on Netherlands: You can conquer Belgium by getting a single DR result.

-It may be useful to leave the hex between Lille and Sedan empty to force the Germans to attack one of the cities. In general there is no need to defend every hex especially if short of units like the French may be, because your ZoCs are the best defenders.

-If you leave the French air 8 hexes from the nearest Luftwaffe unit, they need to rebase before striking which improves your odds, and the only relevant hex you cannot cover is Sedan.

-The RAF could come over and strike out whatever is left of Luftwaffe, because they can only support the BEF anyway (this may make UK more vulnerable for an invasion, though). Therefore it may make sense to use those German air sorties quite aggressively as they are often gone after the first allied turn anyway.

One thing to point out. The Germans can waltz right through the abandoned Maginot hex because the adjacent armies in the forts do not exert a ZOC. In order to conserve units there, at least one of the other armies would have to come out of it's fort (probably the southern one) to plug the gap.

Sure, understood, and I made use of the lack of ZOCs from units in forts during that turn, going around the west end of the line. I'm wary about sending anything through the gap because of supply considerations (if one of the units leaves a fort for instance). And, as you'll see from the next turn, which I've just completed, there is a problem...

I would have made different choices mostly in the diplomacy (Turkey instead of Finland and Romania instead of Lithuania IIRC).

Understood, but as I mentioned in the intro I'm trying to go vaguely historic to get the feel of the game and won't be touching Turkey with a ten-foot pole. What I did get wrong was influencing Finland before Keralia got ceded to the USSR, so I lost the Pro-Axis gain from that.

Daemou wrote:

-If you leave the French air 8 hexes from the nearest Luftwaffe unit, they need to rebase before striking which improves your odds, and the only relevant hex you cannot cover is Sedan.

Yes, I used the standard setup in the Vassal module and didn't consider rebasing, I should have done. You'll notice that both French air units are now 8+ hexes from the German air though.

It seems that the April showers were just a bit late and the rain comes down again. The conquest of France can’t be put on hold now and the panzers will just have to fight through the mud.

Strategic warfare between the Axis and the West is now in effect [Axis roll 4, Western roll 3 /2 for Submarines = 2; Result is DR and the UK factory lost marker is increased by 1 to 2] and unrestricted submarine warfare kicks off the Battle of the Atlantic.

Five German armies attack and do precisely nothing.

German diplomats have a similar lack of success (No Event) but the Western faction talks down the Axis successes (Pro-Axis – Discarded). The Soviets manage to seize the final piece of ground open to them (Area Seized) and take control of Bessarabia.

Not one single German attack out of seven did anything.

And right here I’ve run into my first real problem with the game: Poor weather is crazy bad. The penalties for attacking in poor weather seem to be excessive, basically making it an almost pointless exercise. The difference between Fair and Poor weather just seems to be too much. This turn I made 5 attacks on Lille without managing to get even a retreat. The differences as I understand them are:

So the chance of each result (fractions rounded to nearest 1%) in Fair/Poor weather is, unless my maths has failed me:

AA: 0%/3%AS: 0%/22%NE: 25%/50%DR: 42%/22%DD: 28%/3%DE: 5%/0%

Meaning the chance of a successful attack in this situation in fair weather is about 75% and in poor weather 25%. And for infantry in poor weather, the odds are even worse of course.

Someone please tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow? Considering the number of turns in the game and the amount of bad weather there’s likely to be (more than 50%) the thought of all those turns of bad weather in Russia is sapping my will to continue. I can’t reconcile this with either my perception of reality or the idea of a fun game, and I haven’t even considered severe weather. Why are both the attacker and defender affected by severe weather but only the attacker by poor? I need to understand this stuff before I continue.

What am I missing people? I'm not having a dig at the game, I need to understand why a bit of poor weather has such a massive impact. Please help me get over this.

I cant help you understand the odds or anything, but you mentioned it is a ling game with many turns... perhaps the extreme affects of weather are built into the idea that Germany will waste many turns in bad weather but still achieve historical results?

You are in May now, and it was a write off, but you have until July/Aug before you really fall behind right? Turns are a month along? So you have 2 to 3 turns to ‘turn’ it around so to speak.

The weather question seems to have been addressed to an extent in the latest errata/questions document, which I've just read. It's a concern for me the way it's been explained, that it seems to have been built into the game to have these long quiet periods. Maybe that reflects history, I'm not sure about that, but it could definitely make for a dull game with most months fairly static anywhere but in the desert.

The idea that over-bad poor weather effects balance out over-good fair weather effects just doesn't sit right with me. Two wrongs don't make a right and it's a design choice that seriously impacts the immersion/storytelling side for me. It may be just a personal thing, but for me it's a serious issue.

Someone please tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow? Considering the number of turns in the game and the amount of bad weather there’s likely to be (more than 50%) the thought of all those turns of bad weather in Russia is sapping my will to continue. I can’t reconcile this with either my perception of reality or the idea of a fun game, and I haven’t even considered severe weather. Why are both the attacker and defender affected by severe weather but only the attacker by poor? I need to understand this stuff before I continue.

What am I missing people? I'm not having a dig at the game, I need to understand why a bit of poor weather has such a massive impact. Please help me get over this.

You're not missing anything and this is one of the most common concerns with the game. If you play the game out through 1945, I think you'll find that it models WW2 fairly well. The huge gains made during Barbarossa, only to be stopped by bad weather and reinforcements. The inability of the Germans to actually conquer the USSR, or even to guard their long flanks. The fragility of Italy. The overwhelming air power of the Western Allies. The Russian steamroller. The desperate fight to hold onto Germany at the end.

That said, weather is huge in the game. There's a mental disconnect between our expectations and how the game actually plays out turn by turn. This especially shows up in Russia during the winters, when the Soviets don't gain much ground. All I can say is that it seems to "come out in the wash". As I said, the game tends to model the war fairly well.

(My own take is that the game would be better using bi-monthly turns. The game would play more quickly, which is important when playing the campaign game. In addition, there could be fewer poor weather turns, as there would be half as many turns in which the attacker can gain ground. However, this would require a complete overhaul of the game, from MP's to DRMs. So I don't expect such a change.)

One nuance of the weather rules: The side with more sorties has advantages in Poor/Severe weather, even with a lower innate DRM. In addition, bombing missions are much more likely to succeed in Poor/Severe weather. In effect, bad weather makes "no effect" results much more likely. So for naval actions in the Med, the UK want Clear weather, while the Italians want bad weather to get their convoys through. To protect the Reich, the Germans want Clear weather in the skies. To hammer the Luftwaffe, the more numerous Soviet air force loves Poor/Severe weather.

House RuleMy own opponent is really bothered by the swinginess of the weather. Rather than mess with the DRMs, I suggested the following house rule, which we're using in our second campaign game.

Cold Zone: If May is Clear, June is automatically Poor. If May is Poor, June is automatically Clear. Gives some predictability to the weather, which seems to help both sides equally, and also guarantees that the May/June weather will not skew one way or the other.

Mild Zone: If May is Clear, roll normally in June. If May is Poor, June is automatically Clear. Basically guarantees one Clear turn, while retaining the 45% chance of two Clear turns.

I know I addressed this in the last errata file, but in the hopes that you'll continue let me add that just because you can attack, doesn't mean you have to. Players often don't bother in bad weather (at least for ground combat) unless it is critical or they can improve DRM spread, e.g. a multi-unit Assault with Hvy Arty (think Russians). Not attacking significantly reduces the time spent on those turns.

While ground combat tends to stop during bad weather, air/naval combat tends to continue because bad weather is the equalizer for air/naval units. It can allow the side with lower or no DRM to engage in combat on a more equal footing. Again, that is if a player chooses to do so.

House RuleMy own opponent is really bothered by the swinginess of the weather. Rather than mess with the DRMs, I suggested the following house rule, which we're using in our second campaign game.

Cold Zone: If May is Clear, June is automatically Poor. If May is Poor, June is automatically Clear. Gives some predictability to the weather, which seems to help both sides equally, and also guarantees that the May/June weather will not skew one way or the other.

Mild Zone: If May is Clear, roll normally in June. If May is Poor, June is automatically Clear. Basically guarantees one Clear turn, with a 55% chance of two Clear turns. Without this house rule, it's still 45% chance of two Clear turns, so it doesn't change the odds much.